U.S. Rep. Sander Levin says the passage of right-to-work legislation in Michigan was a “dreadful mistake” that will lead to more divisiveness in the state.

He also said Friday in a meeting with editors of The Oakland Press that the looming federal fiscal cliff will be avoided before the end of the year.

Members of the Michigan House and Senate late Thursday passed separate bills that made Michigan the 24th right-to-work state where workers do not have to join a union at a company where employees are represented by organized labor. This will overturn Michigan’s historic role dating back to 1940 when the United Auto Workers first organized workers at a Ford plant in River Rouge.

The legislation, passed in a lame-duck session, was expected to be signed next week into law by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder.

“Before Governor Snyder and Republican legislators totally unravel the fabric of labor relations on a path of blind partisanship, they should realize that the structure of collective bargaining for the private and public sector was crafted and passed into law on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis,” Levin said. “ If the Republican leadership continues this plunge into deep divisiveness, it will lead increasingly to Michigan divided, not Michigan united. They must turn back.”

He said what Snyder backed is a “course of deepening division. It is a dreadful mistake.”

On Jan. 1, a number of significant tax hikes and budget cuts will simultaneously become effective. This is what is referred to as the Fiscal Cliff.

Levin, the ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, said, “Ultimately, the voice of the people will be heard.”

The issue of taxes continues to ensnare negotiations on the fiscal cliff. The Obama administration has demanded that income tax rates be increased for the wealthiest Americans. Republicans made a counter-offer earlier this week that would raise revenue by closing loopholes and deductions, but would also preserve existing tax rates, all of which are set to expire at the end of this year unless Congress acts.

Republicans have put themselves in a corner by a pledge to not raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans, or those who earn $250,000 or more a year, Levin said.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Friday that “no progress” had been made on resolving the impending fiscal cliff.

If not resolved, the Congressional Budget Office projects that these changes, if not stopped, will push the U.S. economy back into a recession, resulting in a 1.3 percent contraction of the Gross Domestic Product in the first six months of 2013 and a 9.2 percent unemployment rate by the end of the year.

Republicans have talked about putting a ceiling on certain IRS deductions to raise revenue.

These include limiting the mortgage interest deduction, charitable contributions and state and local taxes — items that can reduce a taxpayer’s liability if they itemize, Levin said.

“If we go over the cliff it is a very dangerous ... and should be avoided,” he said.

To resolve the issue, Levin suggested continuing the middle-class tax cuts, extending the Alternative Minimum Tax for another year, extended unemployment insurance at least at current rates rather than reduce eligibility for the unemployment payments to 20 weeks, continuing the Social Security tax cuts and restoring the (President Bill) Clinton’s tax rates, especially for those with incomes greater than $250,000 a year.